Joy Division – Closer
Never has there been a more overhyped death cult than that which came to the fore upon the death of the joy division singer, Ian Curtis. JD were undoubtedly and extraordinary, unique band who spawned endless copyists, but the reverence which was applied to them in the year or so following the act was a phenomenon and nearly swamped New Order before they were even started.
Dig this – “the emotional impact of their music was shattering and irreversible, their records an icy collision of romance and alienation. between 1977 and 1980, they recorded the two most affecting and influential albums of their generation – and on may 18, 1980 the lifetime of both the band and their lead singer Ian Curtis was tragically cut short by suicide, an appalling end to one of Britain’s greatest groups.
“In the aftermath of punk, Joy Division invented a glacial new sound which dramatically connected with a country lurching towards an unforgiving era of Thatcherism. a band capable of touching the outer reaches of human emotion, they were driven by the wired and spinning music created by Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris and the starkly personal, often depressive, lyrics of their troubled vocalist, Ian Curtis.
“Even today, their music and darkly powerful sentiments echo through the work of contemporary groups such as the Verve, Radiohead, Spiritualized and Primal Scream.”
James Oldham, NME

It was into this intense and histrionic atmosphere that the follow up to 1979’s debut album, unknown pleasures, was released, with the ominous cover artwork by Saville only adding to the mood.
The tone of the record was hushed and haunting compared to the raw power of unknown pleasures; many considered it to be their biggest achievement, a chart to the pathways of the dark side of emotion. I prefer the first album, but this is still a marvellous album, a powerful work which ranks up there alongside the finest rock albums.
Again there was an amazing array of material on the album – Heart And Soul, Twenty Four Hours, Passover, Decades, The Eternal, Atrocity Exhibition – it was almost too magnificent to bear.
At the time the album was difficult to listen to, we were too close to the occasion, but as the years have passed, we have become more objective and THIS ALBUM IS A KILLER.
It has been accused of being maudlin and overly sentimental, and the abundance of synths which mark out all the soundscapes creates a very pastoral atmosphere.
Tracklisting-
ATROCITY EXHIBITION
ISOLATION
PASSOVER
COLONY
A MEANS TO AN END
HEART AND SOUL
TWENTY FOUR HOURS
THE ETERNAL
DECADES

The silence when doors open wide
Where people could pay to see inside
For entertainment they watch
his body twist
Behind his eyes he says I still exist
This is the way, step inside

In arenas he kills for a prize
Wins a minute to add to his life
But the sickness is drowned
by cries for more
Pray to God make it quick – watch him fall
This is the way, step inside

Those lines from Atrocity Exhibition, the brooding, harrowing opener pretty much set the tone for the entire piece and you won’t find many laughs in the Joy Division world of 1980. It was odd really that the members of the band, apart from the troubled Curtis, emerged later as a humorous bunch who continually sent up themselves and the music industry.
But those days were for the future and in 1980 it was all doom and gloom and portents – but at the same time very, very seductive – the long macs became de rigeur in the late 70’s-early 80’s as troubled adolescents started aping the style of the leaders of misery rock.
I was as into JD as anyone else and was fascinated by their grim magic, but I found Closer an over stylised piece of work after the shocking rush that was the debut album.
It was great stuff, and easily one of the albums of that summer, but it smacked just a little too much of the band living out their gloomy, introspective image for my liking.
However, leave out the over critical carping and strip away the hype and you still get a wonderful piece of art rock, all splendid rhythmic pulse, shimmering synths, scritch scratch guitar and the booming lead bass lines of Peter Hook, and then there was that committed, intense vocal performance, with Curtis so far out THERE you could feel it – the music was gripping, but it was the presence and feel of Curtis which made JD stand out – New Order were a very different act when they emerged and for the other members it was like a breath of fresh air when they stepped away from the shades and torments of their former singer.
I won’t try and pick out particular tracks, because Closer needs to be appreciated as a whole, a piece of art, rather than a collection of songs, it is somehow much, much more than that.
RIP Ian, we will not forget.